Continued from Page 3
Athletics West has been a major
force in American track and
field. Brown, as much as
anyone, is responsible for that.
When Brown first joined
Athletics West in 1978, the club
consisted of only 10 athletes,
and its future was uncertain.
But by 1980, the club had
grown to 29 athletes. It was a
good beginning but Brown felt
much more was possible.
“The next step was to solidify
the philosophy and to give the
club some stability, a little more
refined direction,” says Brown.
That is what he set out to do
when he became the club’s ad
ministrator. “I knew where I
thought the club should go, and
when I was offered the job, I felt
I should take it,” Brown adds.
Brown says track clubs were
formed in the U.S. with the in
tention of providing post
collegiate athletes the support
they needed to continue in their
athletic careers.
Brown feels, however, that
most early track clubs fell short
in this regard. He says the ser
vices they provided their
athletes were limited, inade
quate and, in some cases, un
fair. Brown was determined to
change that.
“We looked at what the
athletes needed to reach their
potential. We tried to break it
into a fairly efficient support
system,” Brown explains.
The system Brown establish
ed was a broad one. No other
club, prior to Athletics West,
had tried to address itself to so
many of the athletes’ needs.
“Athletics West broke new
ground," says Brown.
The club began providing its
athletes with services such as
travel arrangements, competi
tion scheduling, medical ser
vices, coaching, and equip
ment. In addition, each athlete
is given a food and rent subsidy,
whereupon the athlete becomes
a consultant to Nike.
Brown wanted the athletes to
look beyond their athletic
careers. “We didn't want them
to leave the program with only
competition as their resume,"
he says.
As a result, Athletics West
has helped to find jobs for those
athletes who wanted them. The
club has also provided “a post
graduate scholarship” to
athletes who want to further
their education.
But, this has not been a one
sided arrangement.
“The athletes provide us with
exposure,” Brown explains.
“They are pretty good test sub
jects as far as equipment is con
cerned. A lot of the things you
see in shoes and apparel came
out of Athletics West.”
The successes of Athletics
West has been impressive.
Brown points out two recent ex
amples. The club placed 22
athletes on the U.S. team that
went to the 1983 World Cham
pionships. The 1984 U.S.
Olympic team had 20 athletes
from Athletics West, including
the likes of Mary Decker, Willy
Banks, and Alberto Salazar.
Perhaps more importantly,
Brown adds. Athletics West has
given its team members support
in non-athletic areas. For in
stance, 17 athletes with club
assistance have earned or are in
the process of earning post
graduate degrees. No other club
has come close to matching
such numbers.
“One of the good things
Athletics West did was blaze
such a good trail,” Brown says.
“When something comes along
that’s a state of the art, other
companies try to emulate it. It
enhanced all track and field in
the U.S.,” Brown adds.
He says he feels good about
the role he’s had in Athletics
West. “The club has a good
reputation. It’s had good
representation in international
events. We’ve helped a lot of
athletes come closer to their
potential, and we’ve encourag
ed other clubs to support
athletes better. 1 feel the con
tributions have been positive.”
Despite his own ac
complishments and those of
Athletics West, Brown says he
also feels good about leaving
the club in order to return to
school.
In response to how he thinks
his reputation might affect the
attitudes of his professors and
fellow students he says “I think
it might raise expectations,
which is alright. I wouldn’t
want it any other way, that's
sort of fun, it makes you dig
down a little deeper.”
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